William H. Kalbach, b. 1858
William H. Kalbach, a representative of
commercial and financial interests in Oskaloosa,
has attained a position of distinctive precedence
among the business men whose efforts have
contributed to general prosperity as well as
individual success. The strong purpose, safe and
conservative judgment and guiding will power
which are strong characteristics in his business
career contain the secret of his advancement and
prosperity. He is one of Oskaloosa's native
sons, born in 1858, his parents being Isaac and
Christina (Koch) Kalbach, both of whom were
natives of Pennsylvania, and of German
lineage. The father, whose sketch appears
elsewhere in this volume, is now living in Oskaloosa
at the venerable age of eighty-three years, but
the mother died in 1897, in the seventy-sixth
year of her age.
William H. Kalbach was reared in Oskaloosa
and was a public-school student until the age
of fifteen years, when he entered the hardware
store of Cary Cooper, with whom be remained
for six years as a clerk. He next went to New
Sharon, where he established the private bank
of Kalbach Sons & Company, continuing
active in the management of that concern for six
years. He then returned to Oskaloosa and entered into partnership with C. Huber under the
firm name of Huber & Kalbach. This was in
1885 and in 1890 the Huber & Kalbdch Company was organized, which is still in operation,
conducting an extensive wholesale and retail
hardware business. In fact this is the largest
enterprise of the kind in Oskaloosa, and Mr.
Kalbach was the active manager until about a
year ago, the development and growth of the
business being therefore largely attributable to
his efforts. In 1895 he succeeded Judge William H. Seevers as president of the Oskaloosa
National Bank and is still acting in that capacity. In 1892 the Union Savings Bank was
organized with Mr. Kalbach as president and
he also remains at the head of this institution.
He was one of the promotors of one of the first
independent telephone companies in the state of
Iowa, known as the Home Telephone Company and was active in its management for six
years, when with the other original stockholders, he sold out the business, being unable to
give it the time required. It had proved a successful venture in every respect.
In 1884, Mr. Kalbach was united in marriage to Miss Nell Seevers, who was born in
Oskaloosa in 1864, and is a daughter of Judge
William and Caroline M. (Lee) Seevers.
There are now two children: Lee, born in
1888; and Maria, born in 1891. Mrs. Kalbach
is a member of the Episcopal church and Mr.
Kalbach belongs to the Masonic fraternity and
Elks lodge. Wherever found he is a social,
genial, affable gentleman, whose friends are legion and all honor and esteem him for his manly
virtues and genuine worth. As a man his business ability has been constantly manifested in
one phase or another and everything that he
undertakes he masters, so that the extensive
and important commercial and moneyed concerns with which he has been identified have
felt the stimulus of his untiring effort and cooperation and have profited by his keen
discernment and sound judgment.
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from Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa by Manoah Hedge
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. 1906
Past and Present of Mahaska County, Iowa
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy
Iowa Genealogy
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